Canton residents to stand trial

Duo allegedly hog-tied, assaulted woman in home

Nicole Kass is led into the Washington County Courthouse by sheriff’s deputies Wednesday for a hearing on charges related to the alleged assault of a woman in her Canton Township home. - Jim McNutt / Observer-Reporter
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Two Canton Township residents accused of hog-tying and assaulting a woman inside their Charles Street home were ordered Wednesday to stand trial.

Ronald Robert Osko, 20, and Nicole Marie Kass, 24, both of 230 Charles St., appeared before District Judge Ethan Ward in Central Court for a preliminary hearing. The pair were arrested April 3 after a 23-year-old woman accused them of brutally assaulting her April 1.

The woman, who has a form of autism and Tourette’s syndrome and was living in a Washington group home at the time, was taken to Washington Hospital before being transferred to UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh. She is now living in Bentleyville.

The woman testified Wednesday she was friends with Osko and Kass and went to their home April 1 to hang out.

She said she suffered a fractured nose and spine, numerous lacerations and bruises and cigarette burns to her body, during the assault. The woman also testified Kass and Osko cut off roughly 90 percent of her hair and wrote curse words and drew swastikas on her arms, back and legs.

The woman also testified Osko sexually assaulted her with a machete and hit her on the back of the neck with the machete. One of the pair is also accused of trying to cut off a tattoo from the woman’s neck with a razor blade.

The woman said while she was at the home, they began to throw things at her and prevented her from leaving. The woman said things continued to escalate, and that Osko punched her in the face. The woman said she fell and hit her head off of a coffee table, knocking herself unconscious. When she woke up, the woman said her clothing had been removed and that she was hog-tied on the floor.

The woman said she screamed and that she was gagged with her own shirt. She testified that she went in and out of consciousness as the pair continually kicked and punched her. The woman also testified that Osko stomped on her head while wearing boots.

This all occurred while two other people were asleep in the same room, the woman said. They eventually woke up and stopped the assault.

Francesca Sacco joined the Observer-Reporter as a staff writer in November 2013, and covers the Washington County Courthouse and education. Prior to working with the Observer-Reporter, Francesca was a staff writer with a Gannett paper in Ohio. She graduated from Point Park University with a dual bachelor’s degree in print and broadcast journalism.